Fort Hood opens new radar approach center

Fort Hood is celebrating its new radar approach control center, a project costing about $5 million.

Author:
Jillian Angeline

Published:
6:26 PM CDT August 31, 2017

Food Hood is celebrating its new radar approach control center, a project costing about $5 million.

The renovation took place next to the air traffic control tower. Crews gutted the approach control center and added new spaces for controllers to monitor the airspace -- which stretches in a 60-mile ring around post. Channel 6 also learned the spaces will be used for training as well.

The center helps monitor nearly a million air operations per year. These operations include live fire training, military plane flights, commercial flights and unmanned drone operations.

"That's critical to understanding," Matthew Van Valkenburgh, Killeen Aviation Executive Director, said. "If it's not open, Fort Hood doesn't train. And being the largest power projection facility in the United States, and almost in the world, it's critical to the mission and everything we do here."

Valkenburgh said the building was aging. They received input from the air traffic controllers to improve the facility.

Texas leaders said this kind of improvement will strengthen economic ties on post and in the surrounding community.